Kayla Alexander couldn’t escape the thorn in her side. She felt it every day in practice. Wherever she was on the court, the thorn went, too poking, prodding and taking her out of her game.

‘With her, last year in practice was constantly a battle,’ said Alexander, Syracuse’s sophomore center.

Alexander was referring to a counterpart that instigated a physical war whenever she was on the court. That made life difficult for Alexander. That was the 6-foot-3, redshirt freshman Shakeya Leary.

‘When we’re on the court, we’re totally enemies,’ Leary said.

Sitting out her first season in Syracuse, Leary guarded Alexander during every single practice. Head coach Quentin Hillsman made sure they never played on the same team, realizing how each could make the other better. Both play the center position for Syracuse but with drastically different styles. Alexander gives much of the credit for her Big East All-Freshman recognition to Leary. And in return, her pupil says she wouldn’t have been ready to step out onto the court in 2010 were it not for the experience of playing against Alexander all last season.

Saturday, the Orange (5-0) takes on Delaware State (1-4) in the Carrier Dome at noon. It’s a game in which both Alexander and Leary should be able to dominate against a team whose starting center is just 6-foot-1.

When asked if Leary was the most physical presence she faced all of last season, Alexander had to think on it but eventually said yes. Even more physical than Connecticut’s Tina Charles. Listed as an inch shorter than the 6-foot-4 Alexander, Leary works tirelessly in practice to keep her counterpart away from the post area.

And in Hillsman’s practices where fouls are called sparingly this can mean pushing, shoving or anything else her coach doesn’t deem ‘flagrant.’

‘Shakeya’s a very physical player,’ Hillsman said. ‘She’ll put a body on you and do the things she needs to do to keep Kayla away from the basket. I think it’s important to get used to playing through contact and being physical and being aggressive.’

In addition to improving Alexander’s strength, Leary assisted in the development of her defensive game, as well. Leary is a guard trapped in a center’s body, said teammate Iasia Hemingway, meaning she likes to turn and face the basket with the ball in her hands.

Able to palm the basketball easily, Leary has the ability to put the ball on the floor and attack off the dribble. This is in stark contrast to Alexander, who rarely dribbles during the course of the game.

As a result, Alexander had to leave the paint on defense to guard a player with a contrasting skill set.

‘It makes me buckle down, play real defense, and it gets me better,’ Alexander said. ‘I’m going to come across players just like Shakeya who can start with the ball outside. She helps me prepare for that and defend them.’

But both players are quick to say the physicality doesn’t leave the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center. Off the court, Alexander and Leary are roommates. And it is in this non-basketball setting that Leary learned even more about how to get ready to play in the Big East this season.

Leary said she would constantly ask Alexander what game experience was like and just how tough it was to play in the nation’s biggest conference.

‘I always go to her for everything,’ Leary said. ‘With her help and working hard in practice, it’s easier for me in games.’

Thus far, those battles in practice and inquisitive conversations at home are paying off for the Orange. Alexander is averaging nearly 18 points per game as the starting center once again seven points higher than her average last year.

Leary, serving as Alexander’s backup, is averaging six points and six rebounds in 13 minutes of playing time per game. She’s shooting an impressive 47 percent from the field and 91 percent from the free-throw line.

‘They’ve been very good for each other,’ Hillsman said. ‘When you have competition every day, that makes you better. … It obviously helps you.’

But perhaps the most rewarding part of having Leary on the court this season for Alexander is watching other interior players deal with her level of physicality. She has played just five games, but Leary has scored 13 points and nine rebounds against Long Island and led the team in rebounding against Cornell.

The thorn no longer resides solely in Alexander’s side.

Said Alexander: ‘I’m ecstatic now that she’s finally on the floor and doing damage to other people instead of me.’

Mjcohe02@syr.edu

 

Published on December 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13